Impossible Things are Happening Everyday
by ASianSuccessor2012
Summary: Based on the RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN musical. What happened to Cinderella after the slipper fit? After she left her step-family's home, were amends made? Will everyone be able to open their doors to a new chapter of their lives beyond the happily ever after and make it through this impossible journey together? My first-ever R&H Cinderella fanfiction...please Read & Review!
1. I Have Found Her

**_Author's Note:_ Hello everyone! ASianSuccessor2012 here. As you can see, this is my FIRST-EVER multi-chapter Cinderella fanfiction on this site. By the way, this is based off of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical version, not the Disney version. This story is mostly based off of the Julie Andrews 1957 version, with a little bit of elements from the 1997 Brandy version, but most of all, it's based on my school's musical theatre production of Cinderella (we did the 1957 stage version)...that's why I decided to write this story in the first place, because I was inspired by our show and how we put it together in five months, then performed it for everyone in February 6-8 and 13-15 of 2014, and yes, I fell in love with this show ever since we started working on it (I played Queen Constantina, by the way :) ). The title of this story is also based on one of the songs in the musical, "Impossible." Anyway, this chapter is set right when Prince Christopher is about to try the slipper on Cinderella and everything continuing from there until a little bit beyond their wedding. If you haven't seen both the 1957 Julie Andrews and 1997 Brandy Norwood versions of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella (or possibly haven't seen the musical at all), I strongly recommend you to watch it, even if you know the Cinderella story well. It's amazing! I promise you, you won't regret seeing both versions. You'll simply fall in love with it and be enchanted by those adaptations. So, without further ado, here is my first chapter of "Impossible Things are Happening Everyday." I hope you enjoy it! Be sure to REVIEW the story after reading it, they always make my day. Constructive criticism is welcome but please, NO flames. If you liked this story and want to see more, feel free to follow and favorite it on your list. As always, I don't own anything, all the characters belong to their rightful owners and Rodgers and Hammerstein, only the eventual appearances of OCs belong to me. **

**Keep defying gravity!**

**~ASianSuccessor2012**

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**1.) I Have Found Her**

Back in the royal gardens of the kingdom where King Maximillian and Queen Constantina reigned and his royal highness, Prince Christopher lived, that one afternoon, a mysterious, simple yet beautiful girl dressed in rags, presumably from the village was sharing a rather awkward but meaningful conversation with a dejected Prince Christopher. That girl happened to be none other than Cinderella; the girl at the ball who caught Christopher's eye and eventually captured his heart. As she spoke with him, noticing his defeated and miserable state he was in, part of her wanted to throw her arms around him and reveal who she was. But another part of her was afraid and anxious, knowing that a simple village girl like her who has always gotten used to being treated like a lowly maid of the house instead of a well-treated one or even a daughter would be a rather unusual match for someone like the prince. Christopher, on the other hand, though doubtful of his actions, was becoming quite suspicious and more and more curious by the minute. He knew that no matter how hard the herald, steward, royal guards or the questionable secret service tried, none of them could find the missing girl. But whenever he looked at the servant girl who stood right before him, he felt as if he had seen her face before at least once in his life. Believe it or not, he had a feeling that this girl almost looked exactly like the lovely, mysterious maiden he danced with at the ball, though he still wasn't so sure if she really was.

Then, an awkward silence filled the garden as Christopher sat silently, avoiding eye contact with Cinderella as she abruptly turned away from his sight, preparing to scurry back home; back to the lonely life she led without a single soul in her household to listen to her and back to those days of constantly being rushed around with her chores with one order mounding after another in split-seconds before she could even get her first task done...back to the moments she would spend in her own little corner, all alone in her own little chair. With those thoughts clouding her mind, without speaking another word, Cinderella walked away from where the prince was seated with a quick pace, her distance growing farther and farther by the second. The young man was on the verge of losing all hope until he glanced at the slipper that sat right next to him on the squared velvet cushion and turned his eyes back to the maiden.

"Stop!" he hollered before Cinderella could flee. She turned around and met his blue eyes once more, looking at him with confusion and cluelessness, asking herself, 'what does he want from me now?,' not in an aggressive manner but purely in a curious state.

"Has anyone tried the slipper on you?"

"No, your highness," she replied meekly yet wondering why the prince asked such a question to one he thought was a stranger at the moment. All of a sudden, she remembered...the slipper was to be tried on _every _single maiden in the kingdom until the missing girl was found.

Without hesitation, he carefully lifted the ever-so-fragile glass slipper from the velvet cushion and walked straight to the young maiden and bent before her feet. Now was the long, anticipated moment that both Prince Christopher and Cinderella had been waiting for. For the prince, he knew and could tell that there was just something about her that always seemed to shift his mind back to the night he danced with a certain girl and at that moment, it felt like a game of chance. It could be one or the other. It is either the slipper would fit or the slipper would not fit, but he would never know until he actually _tried. _As for Cinderella, the feeling was different. She knew that she _was _the girl at the ball that Christopher fell in love with and she knew that he was the very man that she danced with and also fell in love with that night. When she observed his actions, bending down on one knee, reaching for the shoe that she was wearing just to take it off, an outburst of excitement and butterflies were present at the pit of her stomach, she could hardly contain herself. But she managed. Either way, there was no turning back for the both of them.

Christopher was filled with nothing but anxiety as he took her shoe off of her foot, silently hoping and praying that this familiar-looking girl was truly the one. Once he lay both his bare hands on the glass slipper, his heart was racing faster than his mind was spinning and he could almost hear his heart pounding against his chest as the slipper was getting closer to her foot. As the slipper was approaching her toes, Cinderella couldn't help but smile, knowing that his dreams were on the brink of coming true. _Her _dreams were on the brink of coming true. In less than a minute, knowing that the slipper would already fit, she too knew that Christopher would start to see her differently as no longer the stranger he thought she was.

When her foot was slowly but surely being placed into the slipper, beginning with her toes, all the way to her heel until it touched its bottom-most base, Christopher's face lightened up all of a sudden. His smile grew wider, his eyes were glistening and his heart felt something far greater than happiness. He felt unending bliss and for the first time in forever in his life, he felt joy beyond compare. Christopher looked up with loving eyes to those of Cinderella, who was also on the verge of tears. After all this time, after she ran away from the ball at the stroke of midnight, Cinderella thought that she would never see him again. They both thought that they would never see each other again. But now, the very moment they thought was impossible was happening before their very eyes.

The now joyful prince stood up and took her hands in his, looking into her eyes in a way he never did before.

"I have found you," Christopher exclaimed, still captured in this moment of bliss, "and I still don't know your name."

"My name…is Cinderella," she replied, her eyes still glistening as she stared into her lover's eyes, still in shock and disbelief but joyful because of what has happened just now between them. Christopher moved even closer to Cinderella and cupped her face in his hands, looking more and more lovingly at her as the minutes passed.

"The most beautiful name in the world…"

And with that, the prince pulled her into a long, passionate kiss; one filled with love, joy and celebration of the dreams they had that they never thought would come true. At that one lovely moment, one too romantic and true to go unnoticed, it was just them two; Prince Christopher and Cinderella. They stood alone together in the middle of the royal gardens without anything or anyone to ever come between them again. Not even Cinderella's stepmother or Portia and Joy could stand in her way ever again for as long as she lived. In this time of bliss that they shared, all they had was each other.

Neither of them knew, or cared to even hear, the footsteps of the Herald rustling through the grass and the fallen leaves. Still keeping his straight and noble posture despite feeling sorry for his friend, the prince, he decided to check on him to see how he was or find out if he had cleared his mind yet. But behind the bushes, the sight his eyes caught a glimpse of was one he never expected. There, he saw Christopher and a stranger girl who he has never seen before in each other's arms in a prolonged embrace that seemingly felt like eternity but one he presumed was warm and full of love. The Herald dropped his jaw, shocked at what was displayed before his very eyes, but at the same time, he felt his urge to smile. And so he did. His expression of shock turned into a somewhat nearly goofy grin, which was quite out of character to his position, as he swiftly ran back into the doors leading to the inside of the castle.

Once the large marble doors closed behind him, he jumped excitedly for joy and dashed through the palace halls, not even caring about what the rest of the servants were thinking, no matter how unusual his disposition was of a herald. On the left side of the carpeted staircase with marble bannisters, the royal steward was reading a scroll of the list of orders appointed to him by the king and queen. He was thoroughly focused on the layout made of his duties until a screeching noise of the slippery floor caught his attention and all of a sudden, the excitably frantic herald slipped and knocked him clean off by accident, thus knocking off his concentration.

The herald stood up, picked up his hat and brushed the sides of his uniform until he caught sight of the fallen steward, both his black hat and scroll on the ground, and reached out his hand to help his comrade up.

"I'm sorry about all this, my friend," he chuckled as he helped him regain his posture, still in his pleasant mood, forgetting the formalities of his royal position, "I didn't happen to see you there."

"It's quite alright," the steward replied, brushing his sleeves and fixing the yellow feather on his hat, "But for goodness sake William, what's all the rush about? You certainly don't seem like yourself after all that girl-searching with the slipper. I merely expected you to be tired! Tell me, what is going on?"

"Save all the questions for later!" the excited herald exclaimed, "But for now, I need their royal majesties at once!"

"Well, what do you have to get so excited about?" a confused and pressured steward asked, "Besides, now isn't the time to disturb their majesties. You know how the king gets when he is—"

"—not right now, my stiff and stalwart friend! Just get the king and queen to come down to the gardens right away and I'll explain the rest later,"

William, the herald, exclaimed even more excitedly as he forcefully but joyfully grasped the hand of his shaken and clueless comrade up the carpeted stairs of the left-wing stairwell, all the way to the bedroom of the king and queen.

"No, really William, what is going on?!"

"Shh…later, my friend, later!"

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Meanwhile, after Christopher and Cinderella shared their longest embrace they have ever felt for the first time together, they slowly pulled away, still feeling the warmth they had in each other's arms. They looked into each other's eyes once more, smiling because of their presence, but something caught the prince's eyes right then and there. More tears were falling in Cinderella's face the more she looked into Christopher's eyes; those bright blue eyes she thought she would never gaze into again. Christopher placed his hands on her shoulders, his face growing concerned when seeing his lover cry.

"Is there something wrong…Cinderella?" he asked her with concern in his voice, though taking joy in saying her name for the first time.

Cinderella looked up at him, trying her best to hold in the remaining tears to prevent them from flowing, though holding on to the thought that she finally had the freedom to share her feelings with someone who truly loves her for who she is; someone who will understand how she feels no matter what it is.

"Oh no, it isn't that at all, Christopher," Cinderella started, "It's just that all this time, I thought that we were dreaming and I thought that I would never see you again. Ever… But now, here we are, together again. I-I never thought that this would happen, I…I thought that this would be…impossible."

Nothing could stop her tears from falling because of the surprising, unexpected turnaround of events that happened all in one day. But Christopher was there to make her feel safe, secure and loved, as he wiped away her tears with his fingertips.

"Someone once told me, ten minutes ago, that impossible things are happening everyday," he smiled as he gathered Cinderella in his arms once more, "I love you, Cinderella."

"And I love you!" she beamed, finding herself in his embrace again, laughing off her tears of joy, forgetting about all those years of being treated lower than she should have for that one moment, "You'll never forget that…won't you?"

"Never," Christopher replied, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, still clinging onto the embrace.

While they were still stuck together in each other's arms, little did they know that not one but four sets of footsteps coming from the entrance of the garden behind the bushes. The young couple turned their eyes to see the king, queen, herald and steward jump over the short hedge-like, rectangular bushes, which was quite unlike them at all, only because of their excitement.

First, the queen pushed through the bushes, followed by the herald and the steward, but King Maximillian was unfortunately stuck in the plant due to his constant weight-gaining streak, as brought up by his wife, of course.

"Why, Chris!" Queen Constantina pleasantly beamed, though surprised at his change of expression since she last saw her son, "You…..you…"

All of a sudden, her majesty was at a loss for words.

"Yes, mother?" Christopher laughed at his mother's unusually flabbergasted behavior. The queen turned her eyes to the young, beautiful maiden who stood, smiling, hand-in-hand with her son.

"…you…you found her," she finally blurted out calmly, "Didn't you?"

The prince simply smiled at his mother and nodded, holding Cinderella close. Queen Constantina chuckled in a motherly manner and smiled sweetly and widely at the joy she saw in Christopher's face.

"Oh Christopher," she leaned over and hugged her son, giving him a kiss on his cheek, "I just knew you would find her. I knew it all along!"

"Really, did you?" King Maximillian joked, though he was too happy for his son and his future daughter-in-law, "Never doubted the boy for a second, my dear?"

"Oh, hush now Max," his wife teased back, "None of that matters any longer. What matters now is that our son has found the one he loves. That's all there is to it!"

"You see, your majesties?" their loyal herald cheerfully chimed in, "I told you that there was some good news around here after all."

"And you never told me anything!" the steward glared at his comrade, "Did you, William?!"

"Lighten up for once, my friend, does all this discussion really have to matter right now?" the herald responded dreamily, "Isn't it obvious that his highness found his happiness in the girl who he's been longing to share the rest of his life with?"

"So this is what it was all along?" the steward said, trying to figure out what his comrade was trying to explain, "He's happy over finally finding the missing girl..."

"As her majesty said, that's all there is to it. Now you know," he smiled charmingly with his straightforward response.

"I see..." the steward replied, doing his very best to keep his stiff and serious demeanor, but failed because of the happy moment happening right before him.

While this moment of pure joy and bliss was still happening among the young couple, the queen and two of the royal servants, the silence was broken by the sound of struggling rustles from the bushes' leaves, only to find out that the noise was coming from behind the scene; from a still stuck King Maximillian.

"Maisie, gentlemen!" the king called out, smiling and chuckling as he attempted to wriggle off of the series of plants, "Perhaps a little bit of assistance is needed over here?"

All of them turned their heads to the stuck king and shared a little moment of laughter with each other, the herald and the steward included. The queen covered her mouth with both her hands, trying to hold her laughter from becoming boisterous, which was not as proper for someone in her position. 'Oh, that husband of mine...still gaining lots and lots of weight to this day,' she thought.

"Oh, Maximillian," she laughed, "Your weight has never changed after all these five years, hasn't it?"

"Maisie..." he complained, "Don't just stand there and laugh, my dear. Help me!"

"Alright, alright darling," she replied, shaking her head jokingly, "Just rest easy and we'll get you out of there."

Cinderella couldn't help but to give a slight giggle at the king's little mishap, hoping she wouldn't in any way offend the royal couple and their son, but he too laughed lightly for he knew that everyone was one the same page and it was quite normal for his father to get himself into little awkward and comical situations. The herald, the steward and even Queen Constantina headed toward the thick bush that he was stuck in, grabbed hold of the sides of his body , and with a tight, steady grip, pulled him off, resulting in the king rolling over to the ground and the royal servants falling into the grassy surface. The queen slapped both her hands together to get the residue of the fallen leaves off of them and took her husband's hand to pull him up.

"I suppose that did the trick!"

"Maisie, I thought you preferred to keep your hands in their daintiest at all times," reminded the king as he brushed remaining fallen leaves off his clothing.

"Well, my dear, sometimes there are exceptions, even if it means doing a favor for his majesty," she replied pleasantly, clasping her hands together the way she always did.

"And I do suppose you're absolutely right, Maisie," he remarked, turning to the herald and the steward, "Thank you for your assistance gentlemen. That will be all."

And with that, both servants bowed to the king and queen and headed back into the castle. The herald, in turn, stopped and turned around to wink at the prince and received a smile from him in return. After the whole 'bush' situation, Christopher believed it was time to introduce his future wife to his parents.

"Well, I'm certainly glad _that's _over," a relieved Queen Constantina whispered to her husband as he looked at her and chuckled in return.

"Excuse me, mother and father," Christopher addressed his parents politely, "There is someone I would like you to meet."

Thus began Cinderella's introduction to her in-laws, also knows as, the king and queen of the village, the cities...and the kingdom.

"This is Cinderella; the love of my life," he introduced, beaming with excitement, "Cinderella, these are my parents. You remember them from the night of the ball, don't you?"

"Of course I do, Christopher," she exclaimed, then turned to the king and queen, smiling sweetly and bowing to them in respect.

"It's lovely to meet you, your majesties."

The king and queen looked at each other and smiled, signifying that just by Cinderella's first impression, they knew that their son had chosen the perfect bride that they were just about to get to know.

"I thought you looked quite familiar, my dear," King Maximillian remarked, taking her hand to give it a kiss.

"I bet you knew, your majesty," Cinderella laughed lightly, "I just remembered that I even had a chance to dance with you at the ball. Of all people...the king!"

"And of all people you danced with, you danced with my son," the king chuckled, amused by her amazement, "I must say, Christopher took an instant liking to you, did he?"

"I suppose he did," she replied humbly, just getting used to a rather informal conversation with her future father-in-law.

"And I believe he told me, it's as if you appeared by magic," he continued, "Is that true?"

"I...don't know," Cinderella answered honestly, followed by a giggle that escaped her lips. KIng Maximillian chuckled once more and turned to his wife.

"Maisie, have you met this girl before?"

"Yes, I did darling," the queen replied with a smile and a look on her face that said, 'isn't it obvious,' "We both have, at the ball, remember?"

"Indeed we have, my dear. She's a quite charming young lady, you know?" he said excitedly, "Hm, I like her already! And I know for a fact that you will too."

Queen Constantina smiled at her husband, then turned to approach an already beaming Cinderella.

"Hello, Cinderella," she greeted the young maiden with a warm smile.

"Hello, your majesty," Cinderella bowed once again, "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise dear, it's a pleasure," Queen Constantina said as she took her hand and shook it.

"You know something? Christopher told us so many wonderful things about you while we were in the middle of trying to find you. He almost lost all hope and everything this afternoon before you came along."

"But he didn't, your majesty," she explained, "You see, he almost gave up every inch of his hope, nearly thinking it was impossible, but he didn't stop believing in what he was wishing for...to see me again. And because he believed, it happened! Just like I'm always told; impossible things are happening everyday."

Cinderella's last statement seemed to put a smile on the royal family's faces, causing the queen and king to feel comfortable with her a little more.

"You know what, Cinderella?" the queen began.

"Yes, your majesty?"

"I think that Christopher, the king and myself, and all of us agree that this entire kingdom is really going to like you...very much. Did you ever think about that?"

Cinderella was flattered.

"I never thought about it before, actually," she replied earnestly.

"Well, my dear, I believe that today is the day you should start thinking about it more often until it is implanted on your mind. Because, believe me when I say this... the kingdom will learn how to respect you, then they'll start to like you until in such time, eventually it will be safe to say that they'll love you."

Cinderella, Christopher and the king's faces lightened up after such a remark given by the queen herself on the very day she officially met her future daughter-in-law.

"Thank you, your majesty," she smiled.

Queen Constantina smiled back and all of them made their way to the castle's doors. Christopher and Cinderella walked hand-in-hand while the king and queen strolled behind them, arm-in-arm.

All that time, it seemed that everything was perfect...well, almost everything. Christopher found Cinderella again, introduced her to his mother and father, it was just pure joy for him and her as well. Little did Cinderella know, however, that there were some people waiting for her to return home after staying hours away...her step-family.

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_**Author's Note: ****How did you like that? I tried my best to follow the style of Cinderella's story as based on the musical closely, and I really hope I succeeded. Did I? Haha, what do you think? Feel free to leave me a review and tell me what you think! I am open to any of your suggestions through reviewing, PMs, anything! I surely hope you liked my first chapter. If there's anything you feel needs improvement at any point in time, send me a line and I'll get back to you ASAP. By the way, for the next chapter (NOT a spoiler alert, don't worry), Cinderella's iconic and hilarious stepsisters and their stepmother make appearances! I hope you're looking forward to seeing them, as I am looking forward to uploading this next chapter for you guys. Thank you for reading, and I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am writing it. **_

_**Have a lovely day,**_

_**~ASianSuccessor2012**_

_**P.S. If you didn't know the Steward and Herald, the Herald is the royal servant who sings "The Prince is Giving a Ball" and the characters known as 'Lionel' in the 1997 musical version, but in this story, he is called 'William' because my friend who played the herald named him that way. As for the Steward, he and the chef are the ones who sing "Your Majesties" in the 1957 Julie Andrews version, but in my school's adaptation, our amazing director made his character more predominant and made him stick alongside the herald in most scenes (he even gets to play the trumpet too when the herald announces that the prince is giving a ball and try on the slipper to the ladies of the village). What's his name, you ask? You'll find out in a further chapter! Even I don't know when, but I promise, you'll find out right away.**_

_**And before I forget, if you've seen any of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical versions of Cinderella (the 1957, 1965, 1997, Broadway versions, your own school, etc...), which version does it remind you of the most for this storyt? Please feel free to leave it on your review or your PM. As for me, the version I envision the most in this story is my school's musical production, of course! Haha! Cheers!**_


	2. Lost in a Memory

**_Author's Note: Hi all! I'm back with another new chapter for "Impossible Things are Happening Everyday," based on, of course, the famous and enchanting Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella. I heard that some of you who read this (I guess you know who you are) are really looking forward to seeing the Fairy Godmother soon in the story. The good news is…she WILL be in the story in some of the further chapters (keep your eyes out for chapter three, hint-hint), but unfortunately I couldn't fit everybody in this particular chapter. The even better news is, for now (better news is yet to come when all the characters join in in future chapters-stay tuned!) in this chapter, it will be featuring Cinderella's stepmother, Joy and Portia, as my musical theater class likes to call, "the step-family." Be prepared to see their side of the story! Who knows...they may have changed, but you'll never know until you read it. I hope you enjoy this little chapter up next, and please review right after, I'd really appreciate it a whole lot (just no flames please). Thank you and without further ado, here's Chapter Two (Hey, that rhymed!)._**

_**As always I own nothing. The characters belong to Rodgers and Hammerstein's version of Cinderella and Cinderella belongs to its rightful owners.**_

_**P.S. BE PREPARED! This is going to be a LONG (And I mean LOOONG) Chapter, so get your reading gear and imaginative awareness ready!**_

_**~ASianSuccessor2012**_

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**2.) Lost in a Memory**

Meanwhile, miles away from the royal palace, back in the place that Cinderella used to call home, the house she lived in at the near-edge of the village, the sun was on the brink of setting. The day in itself was just beginning to settle down, but one woman in particular was in a rather restless and unsettling mood...her stepmother.

She, being the tall and solid woman she was, despite her fancy white locks and chocolate-colored cardigan and golden-brown silk skirt, stood at her doorstep , her eyes staring into the horizon and her hand against the door. It was clear that she had been there longer than she heeded to be due to her tired expression written all over her face and as her daughters, Portia and Joy were thinking, it seemed like she was waiting for no one else but Cinderella to come home after hours of venturing away without a moment's notice.

"MA!" a high-pitched, shrill but youthful voice called from inside the cottage, "Aren't 'cha gonna come inside?! It's almost supper time!"

The stepmother turned her head to the door, looked back into the horizon one more time and hurried in before the cold night air could take a grasp on her health.

"Ma, what took ya so long? You've been doing nothing but standing there for thirty minutes!"the voice revealing to be Portia, impatiently waited for her mother as she sat by the dining table, fiddling with the tablecloth.

And I'm starving!" Joy chimed in grouchily as usual.

"Don't think you're the only one who's starving, Joy," the stepmother snapped sternly, "We would have had our supper by now if that lazy girl showed up a long time ago!"

"Oh, you mean Cinderella?" Portia questioned curiously, standing up from her seat.

"Well, of course she means Cinderella!" Joy yelled, obviously annoyed at her sister, "Who else do you think Mother was talking about?"

"I thought Mother was talking about you!" she replied confidently, giving off her goofy laugh, slapping the shoulder of Joy jokingly, only worsening her mood.

"So _you're _the one who's calling me lazy, huh?" an infuriated Joy raised a fist toward Portia, "Well, I ought to..."

"-Girls!" their mother intervened, "Now, I hope none of you are assuming that I'm accusing you both of laziness. Of course I was referring to that Cinderella of ours! What made any of you think about a thing like that?"

Joy raised an accusatory finger right in front of Portia's face.

"Well _she _started it, Mother!"

"No I didn't, I was only kidd-" Portia protested until she was interrupted once again.

"-You clearly knew that I was not in a kidding mood and you're just doing all of this to bother me!" her sister shouted back.

"Then, what did I expect?! You're _never _in a kidding mood! In fact, you're never happy at all!"

"So, what's that supposed to mean, Portia?!"

Before their quarreling worsened, their mother stepped in between them once again, grabbing hold of her daughters' hands in hers.

"Now Joy, Portia, stop all that rubbish and calm yourselves down! Cinderella is the only girl I was referring to as lazy and there will be no misunderstandings of that between you two. Do I make myself clear?" her voice hardened, tightening her grip on Joy and Portia's hands.

"Yes Ma'am!" both sisters replied simultaneously.

"Good!" the stepmother responded as she let go of their hands, sighing heavily out of utter annoyance and stress.

"So, now what?" Joy spoke up.

"What do you mean, Joy?" her mother questioned in a confused manner.

"What are we gonna do for supper now that Cinderella isn't here?"

"Just how do you know she isn't at home at this very moment?"

"We already tried calling her name a million times Ma, and she didn't even bother to answer to anything!" Portia reasoned out with a sour expression on her face. The stepmother buried her face in her hands, shaking her head irritably.

"Oh, what a _fine, _helper we have around here," she thought, "Leaving our sight without letting us know and having the nerve not to answer to our callings! That Cinderella is _no _help at all!"

"Wait a minute, Portia..." Joy put on a confused expression on her face, "You called her name a _million _times?"

Portia sighed and groaned heavily, rolling her eyes.

"Didn't you?!" she responded harshly.

"Of course I did, if you did," her sister replied, the same manner she did when Cinderella once asked them about their moments with the prince, only to be met with false answers.

After the minutes passed, the step-family was left with no choice but to take action in finding Cinderella, of all methods, themselves.

"Very well then, there's only one way to find out where she is," the stepmother sighed, shaking her head, knowing that it was somethings she dreaded to say.

"What 'cha got in mind, Ma?" Portia perked up and Joy following along, caring less about the situation.

Without any moment to waste, their mother came into a conclusion that they least expected.

"We are going to have to look around this house and find Cinderella ourselves," she stated plainly.

Both sisters stood jawdropped and felt indignant to the situation itself.

"What?!" Joy exclaimed in an upset manner.

"But Mother..."

"No 'ands, ifs' or 'buts,' Portia!" the stepmother reprimanded, "For all I know, the girl could be ignoring our callings for all we care. If this is what we must do, this is what we must do! Are we understood?"

"Yes, I know Ma, we get it!" Portia said with an obvious hint of complaint in her voice, "Now we gotta hurry! I'm starving!"

She hurried along to the top of the stairs, across the hall to the right, in front of Cinderella's room and slammed the door open, rather harshly.

"Cinderella! I know you're in here somewhere!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, "You can't go hiding from anyone in this house...especially me!"

"Oh, that Cinderella!" Joy groaned, pounding her fists on the table, "Ignoring us after all we've done for her! We gave her food, we gave her a place to stay, we gave her..."

"-Joy, rambling on won't solve our problem!" her mother said sternly, standing before where Joy was sitting, "And that doesn't mean, however, that you're off the hook! Try looking somewhere for that girl!"

"Well, why didn't you think of that in the first place, Mother? You know she wouldn't just venture out without telling us."

"I suppose you're right, Joy," she responded plainly, "Now there's no time to lose if you want your supper ready. For all I know, she could have fallen asleep somewhere."

"And the laziness, Mother! Going to sleep someplace else without permission?! Now that's _very_ Cinderella!"

Both mother and daughter headed out of the living room hurriedly; Joy dragging herself off of her chair with a tired groan, stomping off. Clearly, independence was a word that ceased to exist in their vocabulary...at least for a very, very long time now.

Meanwhile, Portia was inside Cinderella's room, which was located to the right-hand side of their house's brick-marble staircase on the farthest end, opposite of her stepsisters' room, that was nearest to the top of the stairs on the left, and the right side of the stepmother's room. This room was quaint and small, not as elegant as the stepmother's but well-kept and dainty, unlike Portia and Joy's room which was practically a mountain of used clothes, loose jewelry and various accessories. Back in Cinderella's room, all was tidy and neatly kept but her bed. Portia almost thought that she saw a huge lump under the bed sheets and covers and she definitely suspected that it was Cinderella, supposedly taking a nap.

"Ohh...I don't think you can hide from me under there, Cinderella!"

And with that, she sneaked up towards the bed and swiftly pulled the blankets out, only to reveal a long, white pillow laying in the middle of the covers, A shocked expression engulfed Portia's face after she took her course of action. She never would have expected her older stepsister to stray away from the house without a moment's notice with all the duties she had to fulfill for the remainder of the day.

"Oh no...Cinderella really isn't here, isn't she?" she thought to herself aloud; her eyes blankly staring at the crumpled pillow and her mouth remaining open in a worried and fearful state, "Oh gee, what am I gonna tell Mother?"

She took a couple of seconds to inhale and exhale heavily, wide-eyed, scanning her view around the room until she finally found room to break the silence so loudly it could drive flocks of birds from miles away off their nests.

"MOTHER!" Portia let out a yell, speeding out of Cinderella's room, making a beeline for the staircase.

Joy and the stepmother returned from the back side of the cottage with confused and befuddled expressions drawn on their faces, their eyebrows furrowed and their minds drifting away from the thoughts of supper. Cinderella's unprecedented disappearance is what concerned them more for the first time in their lives.

"I don't understand, Mother. Cinderella, not there in the back garden of all places? That just doesn't make sense! Besides, it's been an hour since our supper time and I've been starving for too long...I can't stand it!"

Maybe there was one person in the house who thought more of supper than searching for Cinderella. Then, before the stepmother could reply to Joy's complaints, a shrill cry came from the top corridor, reaching all the way down to the bottom of the stairway, coming from no one else but Portia.

"Ma! Joy!" she called out as she was dashing down the stairs.

"Now Portia, slow down!" her mother said as she stopped her halfway at the bottom of the stairs, holding on tightly to Portia's hands, "Now tell me what's going on."

Before Portia could speak, she was panting heavily because of her quick and rapid sprint from Cinderella's room to the stairs. She took a couple of steps forward, leaning on her mother's shoulder until she felt unstable wood below her feet, heard its creaking and fell inside the mysterious ditch with a thud, breaking that part of the wooden floor.

The stepmother lost her grip on Portia's hands, letting her fall into the bottom of the ground by accident, of course. Portia fell on her stomach right on the dusty ditch where murky, light brown clouds of smoke and sawdust shrouded the area where Joy and her mother were standing, causing them to cough.

"Now look what you did!" Joy yelled down at her sister, "You destroyed our floor! What did you have to fall down for?!"

"Hey, I obviously didn't know that this was gonna happen!" she argued back, until a thought suddenly appeared in her mind. A nearly clever one at that, causing Portia to crack a smile.

"Wait a minute...what if Cinderella could be hiding down here?"

Portia slowly pushed herself off of the ditch as the smoke began to clear, revealing an underground passageway and an old, wooden staircase leading somewhere lower, shrouded in literal darkness and mystery in which the step-family took a moment to stand and stare.

"Ooh...a secret passageway! I wonder where it leads to..." she proclaimed excitedly, though receiving no response from her two family members who ere still amazedly staring at the underground opening. 'This is awkward,' Portia thought to herself.

"Aaand I was right. Cinderella could be hiding down here. Clever, right?" she continued rambling on, followed by her silly sort of laughter once more, only getting softer as she was met with no response once again.

'What's wrong with these two?' her mind spoke for her again, making it an even more awkward situation for her and the rest of the family.

"It can't be..." a whisper-like sound escaped the stepmother's lips, both out of shock and a sense of a long forgotten familiarity, Her daughters came on either side of her, wondering why their mother all of a sudden reacted so unusually after the sight of the mysterious basement.

"Anything wrong, Ma?" Portia asked with a hint of concern in her voice, but was slowly into teasing manner as she leaned in closer towards her mother,

"Are you too scared to go down th-"

"-Shush!" Joy nudged her sister with her foot to her skirt, receiving an 'ow' in response, "Let Mother take care of this. She isn't afraid of anything."

The expression of shock in the stepmother's face didn't change one bit even after hearing her daughters' comments.

"Girls," she finally started speaking, her expression remaining constant, "Wait here and whatever you do, do not leave the house."

And with that, she rushed to the stairs through the dusty corridors of the old basement, leaving both Joy and Portia confused.

"What's the matter with Ma?" Portia shrugged, cocking her eyebrows, "It looks as if she's seen an old ghost or something."

"I don't know about you, but it seems to me as if that place hasn't been opened up for ten years," her sister concluded after being able to think deeply after just a matter of time, "Kind of like a secret that Mother's known for a long time that she never told us about..."

Portia fixed her eyes to the ceiling, trying to paint the picture on her mind and nodded her head.

"Yeah...something just like that..." she said almost airily, "You wanna know something, Joy?"

"Uh-huh?"

"That's the first clever thing I've heard you say since...well, forever!"

Portia smiled proudly, almost letting out her goofy laughter, only resulting in Joy giving her sister a shocked look as if she was taking her joke lightly, close to laughing.

"What are you talking about? I'm _always _clever!" she responded sarcastically, not in any way offended by Portia's remark, rather taking it lightly instead of making a big deal out of it.

* * *

In fact, Joy was right and clever for the most part. The secret passageway hadn't been opened for ten years _exactly _and it was a secret that their mother has known for quite a while now. But what they didn't know was that there was just something about that place that stopped their mother's senses cold after all these years. Both the sisters knew that she was shocked at the sight of the passageway, but there was indeed something more to it thank just a long-time secret she has been keeping.

The stepmother hurried down the old, dusty and loudly creaking wooden steps leading deeper and deeper into the darkness; lower and lower each time that she could no longer see the opening that led to the living room of her house. As far and low as her little trek to the little basement was, the more it became pitch black in total darkness, and all of a sudden while she was rushing down, she tripped on her step and fell on her knees, making a loud, creaking noise on the floor. She tried her best not to panic and reached into her think silk pocket for the only thing she needed to light her way: a match. As she was fumbling her fingers through her pocket, her left hand was feeling the ground and fortunately, she felt a long, thick wooden block and figured that it would be useful as a torch. Along with it, her right hand in her pocket felt a toothpick-like stick with a half-broken, rough sensation on its edge and a softness to its tip on the opposite side. That was it...she finally found her match; the last one her silk pocket held. With that, the stepmother pulled it out of her pocket and scraped its rough edge against the wooden step until it lit up a light-orange spark, burning the tip. She picked up the thick wooden block and joined it with the lit edge of the match until it shone a brighter light on its tip, making the view of the area visible.

'That's more like it,' she thought to herself, with a nod and a slight smile.

The stepmother pushed herself off of the ground and held the makeshift torch above her to view her surroundings, realizing that where she tripped happened to be the very end of the stairway she was running to. The secret passageway was revealed to be an old, run-down basement, stacked with mounds of boxes and dusty items and rubbish, cobweb-filled ceilings, unused furniture and delicate timber walls with maroon and dark green dust-filled curtains that have remained untouched for ten years.

It may have been a vague and dim view of surroundings for the stepmother at first, but this basement was so much more than what meets the eye. It was a place that once was, and maybe still is, close to her heart even if she hadn't been down there for ten years. Even her own daughters and Cinderella never knew that this place existed no matter how long they lived there.

In some certain areas of the basement, not everything was kept neatly. Long, stray wooden boards and loose, torn sheets of cloth were laying on the ground, covered in dust and a decade's worth of cobwebs. But the stepmother didn't mind the mess so much as she was far more determined to rediscover what had been long lost since then. She walked on further, tip-toeing because the wooden ground was delicate and pushed off a long, dusty wooden board that was in her way. That was one thing she never thought she would deal with for the rest of her life at least for a long time until then. Indeed, Cinderella wasn't there to clear everything in the path for her and let her walk freely without a hassle...now was the time she had to do things for herself, especially at a time, place and situation like this.

"Oh, that Cinderella!" she groaned and mumbled to herself as a dusty piece of cobweb stuck to her shoe, "Where is she when we need her most?!"

She continued trudging through the mounds and piles of dirty rubbish on the floor, her annoyance and frustration evident on her face though in the dark until without notice, a rigid item met her feet so abruptly, she tripped on her way and fell down, flat in front; her hand still clutching onto the still lighted makeshift torch and the other, on her side. She groaned once more, though louder than before and pushed herself up with her loose hand in order for her to stand, only to realize that her brown silk outfit had been shrouded in dust and cobwebs, She then briskly brushed the dusty disturbances off of her sleeves frustratedly and thought to herself, 'When that girl gets home, she will be washing this dress and double that, that's for sure,' in turn, kicking the item that tripped her.

A faint, crinkling noise of wood, glass, cardboard and metal particles combined echoed through the basement as a result of the stepmother's gesture. She turned her eyes back to the item, revealing a medium-sized enclosed box covered in gray, powdery substances and picked it up; the torch resting on her left hand. Quickly placing it on the nearest solid pile of rubbish, she blew on the box, turning her face away from the smoke that flew as soon as she blew. Seeing that there weren't any traces of tape or seals, she took a deep breath to ease her mind and slowly opened the box.

The old box was similar to a treasure chest, filled with valuable items and undiscovered secrets. But to the stepmother, looking at the things inside of it, they were more like stowed memories that were nearly forgotten. She stared intently at the contents of the box and allowed her hand to reach into it, feeling a sensation of rusting metal on her fingertips. The first of the many things inside it was revealed to be a golden pocket watch with a long, golden chain though hints of bronze were encasing it and rust changing it's quality. A slightly shocked expression was imprinted on her face at the sight of the relic.

'Oh, that was the watch I gave my husband as a pre-wedding present!' she thought aloud to herself, 'I'd know that watch anywhere!'

_Her husband..._that indeed was a subject that didn't bother to cross her mind since the day he was buried a few days after he died, ten years ago. For the time being, however, that did not matter to her at all since she was far more concerned about looking through the treasures she thought were long lost.

After taking the pocket watch out, the stepmother felt more and more eager to take a closer look at more of the box's contents. She took out the second piece of her memories, which was a vintage, medium-sized royal blue feather pen and finally managed to smile lightly at her reminiscence.

"His favorite feather pen! It's not a surprise I couldn't find it after all these years!"The third was a small, dark green 'travel journal' as she recalled it was, scanning through the pages quickly, finding small sketches and journal entries written by her husband and herself a long time ago about two years before he passed away.

"Our little travel journal! I've been searching for this thing for seven years! Who would have guessed it would ever wind up down here?"

Clearly, everything was coming back to her all at once.

With every little item she unpacked from the box, she would talk to herself, spewing out every little detail she remembered about it and why she couldn't find it for each. It took her nearly ten minutes for unpacking almost everything and describing them along the way until she felt her hand grasp something rather thick. With all the might her right hand could muster, the stepmother pulled out a large, velvet-covered, maroon book, causing her yes to grow wide and stare at it. At that moment, she decided to stay silent.

She slowly opened the book, preparing to see what was in it. There, faded photographs of her yesteryear were all lined up page by page in a sepia tone with white frames and dark-colored corners on every edge for each. The first photograph that met her eyes showed a tall man with dark hair, both slicked on each side; a pleasant expression on his face and a mustache plastered above his mouth, standing to the left of a woman shorter than himself, with dark curly locks on the sides of her face and right above her forehead. The woman was wearing a white dress and a veil that rested behind her head and the man's outfit was a light-brown vest and a white suit on the inside. The answer was definitely clear: this was the wedding picture of the stepmother and her late husband; Cinderella's father. Four other pictures lay on the first page as well. One showed two girls, one older and the other younger. The older girl had orange, curly hair that rose up above her head, heavily made up though in her youth and the younger girl had curly dark brown hair that mostly fell along the sides of her head, just like her mother. She had ones of the biggest smiles a little girl could have while the older one had a little bit of difficulty expressing happiness in her face that all she did was show her teeth. The stepmother gave a small chuckle, taking note of the lack of grace shown in the girls' faces, also knowing who they were...Joy and Portia. To this day, it seemed as if they never changed. The third picture showed herself in her youth, holding a bouquet of flowers down to her chest with a smile that was so contagious, it was one of her happiest smiles she ever smiled in her life. Now, those joyful expressions on her face were scarcer than they have ever been in a long time. The next photo showed their wedding cake, complete with icing, three layers and miniature statues of a newly-wed man and woman on top. The only part of the picture that was smudged was the icing in the middle that had their names engraved on it. And finally, the last photograph to be shown on the first page was one of she and her husband kneeling before the priest before they were declared married. As she recalled, page one of the photo album showed the happiest day of her life...one she couldn't deny even now.

The stepmother grew even more interested in looking back at her days of the past that she decided to turn the page to see what memories were in store for her. She reached her hand to touch the edge of the first page but before she could even turn it, she felt yet another wooden item at her fingertips. Determined to find out what it was, she immediately lifted it off the book and shoved it near her face without thinking, only to be met with an even more shocked and dumbfounded expression..

There, displayed before her very eyes was a large, inch-thick, wooden, golden-brown, faded and dust-filled picture frame of the family. The _entire _family. It wasn't just her and her husband or Portia and Joy...it was all of them. Every single one of them that made the family complete...even Cinderella. In the middle-left of the picture stood her husband with his ever-so-famous and undoubtedly unforgettable dark hair and mustache, wearing a striped tie, white garments and a gentleman's coat; his arms outstretched to his right side in an embrace. That was where the stepmother stood. She was enveloped by his embrace with her arms, in turn, outstretched towards him. From the slightly faded section of the picture, it was still apparent that she was wearing her brown silk cardigan; the very cardigan she was wearing at that exact moment. Her locks were still dark and curly and her face showed no traces of stress or embitterment towards anything or anyone...just pure bliss and joy in her smile; one of the most genuine smiles she had ever seen herself smile in years. The photograph itself showed no color or shade but sepia, but the color in her cheeks was something she couldn't even deny was present. Below her, on the bottom-right was Joy, who was still struggling to give a proper smile and right next to her, in between her mother and Cinderella's father was Portia, who looked playful as usual with her mouth open in attempt to create 'the biggest smile you know you'll never see,' as she called it. The stepmother gave a slight, wry smile as she looked at both her daughters in the photograph of their childhood.

"These girls of mine...they've never changed..." she thought to herself once more.

Finally, she turned her eyes to the leftmost part of the picture that also happened to be the most faded part of the entire photograph. There in the left corner stood a brown-haired little girl with her eyes aglow and a sweet, genuine smile that graced her face, wearing a lacy blouse and her hand on Portia's shoulder. The stepmother knew who it was instantly as her eyes widened...it was little Cinderella. _Her _little Cinderella, for a little while at least. She turned her eyes away from the photograph and looked again, noticing a medium-sized crack on the glass from the bottom-left edge of the frame, across Cinderella and all the way up to the arms of the woman who held her father in her embrace. At that very moment, she was no longer just at a loss for words. She was speechless. She felt her heart pounding against her chest rapidly and her stomach dropping as she looked away from the photograph and placed it gently back into the box. She returned to looking back at the photo album, just about to turn to the next page until she felt another sensation of not one but several pieces of rough paper. Without another moment of though,she opened it and saw a mound of envelopes; beige envelopes with 'to's' and 'from's' as if they have existed even thirty years since then but one of them that was still in mint condition, barely shedding its beige color with a lazily scribbled _'to my love' _on its back, had not yet been opened. That was when the rare and hidden emotions deep inside of her began stirring rapidly. She felt her stomach drop and her eyes were showing more devastation than shock. She closed the photo album immediately and dropped it on the floor, not mattering to her if it was covered up in dust or not, allowing it to send one of the envelopes blown to the end of the stairwell without her noticing...the long since unopened envelope. After one quick look at the nine envelopes before her very eyes, she immediately recognized them: they were her love letters given to her by her late husband many years ago.

All of a sudden, memories were conjured up into her mind...memories of the happy days she shared with the only man she knew she ever loved yet a man she knew she never had children with, although it may have possible been intended with the loving relationship they were having. She remembered him being her backbone in times of trouble and strife, the first night they danced and met, leading up to the day that he proposed marriage to her; the day she said 'yes.' She let those memories dance around on her mind until she decided that she couldn't take it anymore. Not one bit of it. The thought of those moments of bliss and the thought of losing him was too much for her to handle. She decided to escape these memories and leave the basement, maybe even for good, with regret of even revisiting the moments of her past even if it was just for a day. She then briskly walked to the far right corner of the dark basement, her torch still in her hand, ignoring the rubbish in her way, and finding an old wooden door that has not been opened since then. The stepmother reached her hand out to the door knob, blew the flame off of the torch and opened it, revealing another stairwell made of stone with white, stone-paved walls on either side. Determined to leave that 'infamous, memory-haunting' place, she slammed the wooden door closed behind her and rushed up the massive steps of stone without turning back.

When she reached the top of the steps, panting, she looked up and the place was now revealed to be outside in the back garden with the flower patches, small trees, topiary bushes of the finest design and right across her, a marble white fountain flowing its water continuously. The sun had already set, the stars were just about to appear and the moon was faintly giving off its gleam. The tranquility of her garden seemed to give her a peace of mind after the flooding memories that overwhelmed her from the gloomy and abandoned basement she just came from. What a relief it must have been for her. She turned around towards the glass door that led her to the living room of her house, opened it and entered, hoping that her daughters would be there to greet her.

The stepmother soon found herself sitting on her maroon silk couch with a deadpan yet stunned expression on her face as she stared at the right-angled side of the fireplace, her eyes fixed upon the fire..._"Fire?" _she thought with her eyes widening, "How on earth did it light up all by itself?"_  
_

Maybe it was Portia or Joy. "No, no," she thought once more, "They obviously don't know the first thing about poking the fire...perhaps Cinderella finally came through this once."

That must have been it. Cinderella must have arrived home. Before the stepmother could holler her name, bits and pieces of memories of the photographs ceased to escape her mind, leaving her confined to the couch in which she sat, trapped in her senses. There was nothing else she could think about except for her encounter. All of a sudden, there were unending questions clouding her mind. What made such an old yet sturdy wooden ground, specifically the pathway to the basement, break down in such an unprecedented time? Was there a reason why the ground broke and opened up the basement for her? Was this a sign targeted especially for her? All these questions were becoming such a bombardment for her mind until she heard a sound of a massive spill coming from her right side, breaking her state of mind.

"Oh, for goodness' sake!" she groaned, "Girls, what in the world is going on back there?!"

"Ya see Joy?! It's all your fault!" Portia's voice called out.

"You think so? I wasn't the one who spilled the vegetable oil all over the kitchen table!"

"Ooh, look who's talking! The one who spilled _all _the water out of the bucket!"

Both bickering sisters, drenched with water from head to toe walked out of the kitchen to the living room with sour expressions on their faces targeted against each other, suddenly noticing their mother who looked confused and still remained catatonic. Joy nudged her sister as a signal for them both to get into their composure in sight of their mother.

"Hello there, Ma!" Portia greeted briskly with her goofy grin, though suddenly turning her face into an expression of shock, "Hey Ma, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

"We've already gone through this!" Joy murmured silently, only to be met with a 'shush' from her sister.

The stepmother broke her catatonic state and turned her eyes to her daughters without moving herself out of her position on the couch.

"Oh no, girls, everything is perfectly fine," she lied, "Has Cinderella arrived yet on the premises?"

Both girls looked at each other, exchanging clueless expressions.

"Nah, I haven't seen her since you got down in the basement," Joy replied with an eye roll.

"I thought she was..." the stepmother sighed, "...it would have explained why you girls are dripping!"

"Well, she should've been here so she could clean up that mess in the kitchen!" Portia exclaimed.

"I couldn't agree more, Portia," her mother responded, standing up and walking slowly towards her daughters for a quick inspection, "Then why in the world are you both soaked to the bone?!"

Her expression became harsher and even more concerned. Portia and Joy turned to each other with a look that told each other, 'we're toast!'

"You see Ma, there was a little spill in the kitchen and I don't know anything about what happened!" Portia exclaimed, lying and obviously targeting the guilt on Joy, "Maybe she can explain everything to you!"

Joy shot a glare towards Portia, preparing to raise her fist.

"Well Mother, I actually have _no _clue about any of this," she said, suddenly grabbing her sister's hands, feeling a wet and sticky sensation to support her evidence, "But maybe _these _can tell you _everything_!"

Portia opened her mouth in frustration, looking at her sister and pulling her hands away from her grasp.

"Gah! Joy! Why do you always have to be such a-"

"Girls!" the Stepmother yelled before anything coarse could escape her daughters' lips, "Perhaps you both can let your mother figure out the evidence for herself."

She held both Portia's and Joy's hands and indeed felt sticky and wet substances on both. Both girls groaned out of guilt as she let go and slapped both her hands together.

"So tell me, Joy and Portia," their mother started calmly without a hint of frustration in her voice, "What were you two up to in the kitchen?"

When it came to telling the truth, this time it was Portia who had the final say.

"Oh Ma, ain't it obvious?" she said with a convincing smile, "We were just trying to make dinner!"

Then, she let out her goofy laughter. The Stepmother chuckled, though it was apparent that something rather unpleasant was boiling inside of her.

"Oh Portia...How many times have I told you and Joy NOT TO ENTER THE KITCHEN!" her frustration was released on her last few mentioned words, making Portia jump.

"I had nothing to do with it, Mother!" Joy exclaimed in a convincing manner, raising her hand in defense, "Portia dragged me into it!"

"Ma...ya see...I-I..." she mumbled nervously, met with a chuckle from her mother who suddenly softened up her harsh disposition.

"Never mind all that, ladies, your mother is a little worn out, that's all," she smiled lightly, "I suppose we'll have to wait until Cinderella finally comes home and cleans up that spill!"

Portia and Joy still were not as satisfied as their mother thought they would be.

"Now what do we do for dinner, Mother?" Joy questioned with her hands on her stomach, "We've been starving for a long time now!"

The Stepmother turned towards her daughters and smiled.

"How about you two go upstairs and change your clothes and we all can go to the village and have a nice, peaceful dinner in one of those lovely little restaurants in the village, don't you think?"

"Ooh, I like the sound of that Ma!" Portia jumped, giving her mother a quick hug, resulting in her outfit becoming wet and sticky as well, "Joy...don't 'cha wanna come?"

"I guess I can," she replied bluntly, "Doesn't look like there's anything else better for me to do anyway."

Their mother looked at the wet portions on her outfit and chuckled, shaking her head.

"Well _someone _gave me a legitimate reason to go upstairs and change!" she teased, clearly targeting Portia.

With that, the step-family headed to the stairwell so they may get changed.

"Watch out for the opening, girls," she warned, taking them by the shoulders and helping them bypass the hole to the basement, trying her best to get her thoughts away from her underground encounter, then finally making it to the bottom of the stairs.

"By the way, Ma, someone poked the fire. Did you?" Portia started a conversation as they walked up the stairs.

"Who, me? Most definitely not. I was about to ask you and your sister if any of you did it."

After all the three of them reached their rooms, down in the living room, a mysterious woman with curly hair, a white, fur embroidered cloak and a light-green, floral gown appeared in front of the windowsill and looked around the house, checking if anyone was in sight. Seeing that no one was there, though the door was locked, she calmly opened the door, surprisingly without touching the lock, and came in.

The woman had such a tender air about her with a knowing smile. Though mysterious, she seemed like the kind of person who happens to be warm and welcoming to anyone she came across. She looked around the living room and smiled at the warmth the fireplace gave it. Suddenly, she turned her eyes to the misshapen hole, planted on the bottom of the stairs and shook her head in sight of it.

"That doesn't look too good," she said to herself, pulling into her cloak for her magic wand, pointing to the hole and immediately make a wooden trapdoor with a round metal handle and joints attached to it.

"That's better," she nodded with a smile and headed for the door, opening it and exiting the house without a trace.

"Fol-de-rol and fiddle-dee-dee..." she chuckled as she wandered off into the night.

That must have been it. She _must have _been the answer to all those questions in the stepmother's mind. She _must have _been the reason the basement was open and she _must have _softened the sturdy wooden ground on purpose in order to bring Cinderella's stepmother down there and restore her memories. What if that was it? What if she planned to bring the memories of the past back into her mind? That woman who concocted all these ideas and put it into action was the Fairy Godmother. Who knew? Maybe she was there for a reason; a reason that no one, not even the step-family or Cinderella, could see coming.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **__**So, how did that go? I admit, it had a little bit too much words and descriptions here and there, but I did all of that for a reason because it looks deeper into the state of mind of the Stepmother as she goes along looking at the memories she thought she had lost all this time. If she was a little bit OC, that's the whole point! She may be a bit of a harsh, strict woman but hey, she has feelings too...nostalgic ones for the most part. And by the way...Surprise! The Fairy Godmother was here! I promise you all some more of her appearances as the story goes along...this isn't over yet. And did I mention the situation at the basement? I bet you didn't expect that either. More unexpected twists are yet to come in the further chapters and installments of "Impossible Things are Happening Everyday." How did you like this chapter? Be sure to leave me a review! As always, constructive criticism is absolutely FINE, just NO flames.**_

_**Cheers! 'Til the next chapter...**_

_**~ASianSuccessor2012**_

_**P.S. As I wrote and read this whole thing, I pictured my colleagues and friends who played the Stepmother, Stepsisters and the Fairy Godmother from my school's production of Cinderella the entire time. When you read this, what kind of cast did you picture? Your own school production? The 1997 version? The 1957 version? Anything else? Feel free to drop me a line or include your comment in your review. **_


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